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This will be on the Food Network, starting on Fridays, August 7, at 10pm.

It looks like a mini TAR-style challenge for each show around the selected city where the Food Network team (Chris Cosentino and Aaron Sanchez, both formerly from the Next Iron Chef) will compete against two local foodie personalities in food based challenges around the city.

Stop 4: The Pickle Guys, and all 4 of them are feeling the burn from the Phaal..... especially the girls!

They have to fill a special pickle order, but because their taste buds are obliterated from the Phaal, they can't taste the subtle differences too well, and the stuff in the pickles will make their taste buds worse...... 10 pickles per pickle order.....

Stop 1: Mandalay Place, -5 Ice Lounge, the first permanent ice lounge in the US. Mittens and a hammer are in the bag for this stop..... Each team has to carve two channels down a block of ice and then mix up signature drinks of the bar to go down the channel to cups at the bottom of the block.......

Aaron, wearing a mitten holding the glass and trying to pour a drink at the same time, dropped the measuring glass! The local chefs have taken the lead!

Grab 6 bushels of apples, and then crush them using an old-school apple press to make apple juice...... Chris/Aaron have probably left one of their mallets at the last stop....... which are needed for this one to break the apples down before they go into the press......

They have to find clues under plates of a mini-buffet. 100 items to eat, 10lbs of food total, approximately. 8 clues to find. Each plate has items of a couple of bites, they must eat every item on their buffet before they can go......

The locals had a lead, but Chris/Aaron caught up and thought they were done. However, they apparently missed a plate or two...... they missed the pickled ginger...

They assembled the pieces to form a food order that they have to fulfill for a special room....... Correction, two different orders for two different rooms! They have to make the carts a special way, and then deliver their orders hot and on time......

Both teams got to the room of their first order almost at the same time, and then got tied up on the way down, because Chris/Aaron forgot their service elevator key, and I don't think the other team have found theirs yet......

Both teams have now got to run down the stairwell back to the kitchen.....

Second order is at Shibuya at the MGM Grand..... they need the key card from their backpacks...... to be delivered to the Skylofts. Both teams' orders were for members of Ka from Cirque de Soleil!

I'm loving this show. Las Vegas was another fun episode, although I think I would've hurled after eating all that food on the buffet!

Funny story from DH. He goes to Las Vegas twice a year for a trade show. On the plane to Las Vegas once he was sitting next to a waiter from Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant. The waiter said you would not believe how many people come into the restaurant and ask "where's the buffet?"

They will create a beach clambake, and then find 20 clams for the pile to cook for the customers.....

They had to first dig a hole, then put 10 stones in the hole. After that, they put down a layer of seaweed, then the clams after they find them, along with lobster, potatoes, and corn on the cob, then another layer of seaweed, and finally a tarp that's been soaking and then bury it.

Aaron and Chris used the strainer (for the second half) to transport all of their stones and take a good lead....... which they get to finish the stop first!

After they get back to the mainland, they get to jump into their cars.

Stop 2: Langham Hotel, home of the largest chocolate buffet in the country......

They must eat their way through their individual chocolate buffets...... each plate that they touch must have it's item eaten. There are 3 keys for each team. However, only one of those three keys will unlock their team's lockbox, which contains their next clue.

Aaron/Chris were in there first, but they can't find any when the brothers arrive. The brothers strategy once they got there was to eat as many things as they can, as fast as they can to try to catch up! The brothers find their first key, but it didn't work. Aaron find their first key and it worked! The brothers second key didn't work either..... They finally find the working key at the end.....

Stop 3: Formaggio's Kitchen which happens to have a Cheese Cave, where they will definitely be heading.....

Chris/Aaron are arguing on how they're going to the next stop, but the brothers are using their local knowledge to get there first!

First they have to carry an 80 pound wheel of parmesan cheese from the cheese cave upstairs to the main area, where they will have to grate, shred, and shave 2 pounds each for a total of 6 pounds to deal with..... They have to break open the wheel to do all that, though.......

Afterward, they have to eat an entire wheel of A Casinca cheese, a very pungent/flavorful goat's milk cheese.....

The brothers are having a hard time breaking open the cheese wheel, and when Chris/Aaron arrive, the brothers give them a little bit of a hard time about their driving misadventures...... However, Chris/Aaron use the tools properly to catch up and split the wheel a little bit faster.

Both teams almost complete at the same time, but then it's time to eat the el stinko cheese!

Stop 4: The Omni Parker House, the birthplace of the Boston Cream Pie, which is really a cake.......

They have to make a 10-layer high Boston Cream Pie, and once completed, carry it across the room to a cake pedestal where it must stand on it's own without toppling.

The brothers again use their local traffic knowledge to get to the stop first. They're worried, however. Neither have pastry skills, and figure that Aaron/Chris probably have some between the two of them.......

The brothers were hurrying up, and creating an ugly Boston Cream Pie, while Aaron/Chris were making sure that theirs looked pretty good, and done quickly....

After Aaron/Chris leave the previous stop, they catch up to the brothers and decide to follow them to the stop. The brothers then pull a sneaky trick: they stop at a green light and only move forward when the light turns yellow! Aaron/Chris get stuck at the red light!

First they have to sift through a bag of white beans to find 10 black beans. After they find the black beans, they trade them for 10 pots of Boston Baked Beans. They then take the pots outside, and either chow down them all by themselves, or use the spoons from their backpacks to recruit people to help them. Once their 10 pots are finished, they have to race to the finish line!

The brothers find their beans first! Aaron/Chris weren't too far behind. The brothers seem to recruit a lot of guys to help them out, but Aaron/Chris seems to end up with a number of ladies.... The brothers finish their pots first! However, Chris/Aaron are right on their heels!

Chris/Aaron are the first team to completely cross the finish line and win!

Great finish with three of them crossing at the same time! This was another fun episode, but I liked the Las Vegas tasks better (two searching tasks in Boston?!).

The brothers (who I could really imagine being obnoxious Red Sox fans at Fenway Park! ) had a real driving advantage. Most of the places where the challenges took place were in the old part of Boston whose streets started out as cow paths.

Durgin Park really is an institution (although now its become a tourist spot). My grandfather ate lunch almost every day of his working life there - when it was just a local working mans restaurant, way before that area was rejuvenated.

Stop 2: I Cream, where they make ice cream using syringes and liquid nitrogen!

They have to create a custom ice cream flavor and sell 4 cups per team member...... They have to follow the instructions very carefully, or it'll ruin the batch.......

Chris/Aaron have made ice cream first, but when Chris went to taste his batch, he double dipped! He has to remake his batch! Meanwhile, the brothers have arrived and have started to make their ice creams!

It's a comedy of errors for Chris/Aaron: First Chris double dips, then Aaron forgets to put the thickener in before the liquid nitrogen and finally, he's misplaced his hat!

Both teams complete at about the same time, but Chris/Aaron have the lead.

Stop 3: Moto. They're heading for Planet Cantu, the mad scientist of the culinary world. They have a Cuban sandwich that's shaped like a Cuban cigar, and many other foods that look nothing like they're supposed to taste like.......

Chris/Aaron have lost their dossier, though! Turns out that it fell off of the front seat and under it......

They have to taste pieces of paper, and use both the taste and the visual clue on the papers to label them...... 25 labels, though......

They're tasting the papers, but not looking at the visual clue.... Chris/Aaron finally figured it out.........

The brothers call for a check, and only have 1 of the 5 flavors correct.

Chris/Aaron got 4 of 5, then looked again at the shrimp cocktail's picture and completed the stop!

Teams will have to deliver 3 orders of food to waiting cars in the parking lot. One team member will man a special table with all of the possible ingredients, while the other will don roller skates and safety gear and skate the food order to the cars...... and to make matters worse, it's about to rain!

Aaron is skating, but he hasn't done it in a long while, and is struggling......

The brother's skater is getting around better, and he's also yelling out the order to his brother on the way back, which also speeds things up......

The teams must first recreate two of Lou Malnati's signature pizzas (including cooking of it....) under the watchful eye of Marc Malnati, the current owner. Then they will have to deliver the two pizzas to the provided address.......

They will have to make a "Lou Pizza", which is a vegeterian pizza and a Sausage Pizza.

The brothers put way too much sausage on their sausage pizza..... it gets corrected quickly enough.....

All of the pizzas are finished and ready to go into the oven at about the same time, and they fight for oven space. All eventually find a spot.

The provided address is the John Hancock building, 94th floor..... Table 4 and Table 6.........

And they find two empty tables..... "Your delivery's complete, now choose one to eat!" They've gotta eat one of those deep dish pizzas between the two of them! Both teams choose the sausage pizzas, which is ironic considering that they started the challenge making sausages.........

Chris/Aaron finish their pizza first, and they're off to the finish line! The brothers get inspired by that and finally finish their pizza!

A black hole appeared on my DVR and didn't tape it Friday night (but 9/11's episode is in the cue, go figure) so I have to wait until Saturday to see Chicago's episode...I'll try to not peak at the winner while I'm waiting!

(This was really supposed to be the pilot episode..... and it shows..... there is a "You might find these useful" note on the backpacks, and for at least the first stop, there was no at-the-stop signpost to tell them what they're doing.......)

The starting line is Man's Chinese Theatre this week.

Stop 1: Semler Wines winery in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Each team must stomp enough grape juice to fill 8 wine glasses......

The foodies think they know a shortcut, but it turns out that they end up getting there about a minute after Aaron/Chris!

Each team must taste and identify the two flavors in eight different truffles....... and there are 20 different flavor combinations to choose from...... Also, this one they can ask whether it's right or wrong one at a time.......

Chris/Aaron get lost on their way there...... and there's the stop thing telling the teams what to do.....

The locals have correctly identified all 8 flavors just before Chris/Aaron have even arrived! They're outta there! Complete dusting!

(Montage of Chris/Aaron struggling on the Inferno, especially Aaron.....)

Stop 4: Bangkok Market

Both teams have been given a shopping list, and the ingredient names were in Thai...... They're going to have to make something that includes the "king of fruits", Durian, the stinkiest fruits in the world!

Somehow, some way, using the freeway, Chris/Aaron have made there first!

Teams are going to have to use the ingredients to make a drink and they'll have to drink a cup's worth.....

Chris/Aaron get assistance from the person at the register translating the ingredient list, while the locals are asking everyone but her!

Aaron chop! PU! And it tastes nasty by itself.... and the Thai shoppers are laughing at both team's misfortunes with the smell.....

Once they get everything mixed in, the Durian's taste fades away, fortunately...... Unfortunately for the locals, they didn't puree their mixture enough.....

Chris/Aaron have a V8 moment when they realize that the nose plugs that were in the backpacks were for the Durian.....

Stop 5: Mariasol at Santa Monica Pier

Teams must make, and then sell, 10 Mariasol tacos....

The locals are panicing, due to their speculation that cooking's involved....... and they would be at a definitive disadvantage if they're right (and they are fortunate that it appears to just be cutting up the ingredients.....)

Aaron/Chris complete making their tacos first, and they're using their celebrity status to their advantage..... and they've finished selling their tacos first, but the locals happened to have sold their last taco a lot closer to the finish line, and the locals have won!!!!!!!!!

I missed the part that L.A. was supposed to be the pilot for the show. You can tell because there were some odd comments by Aaron about Chris and their teamwork that didn't make sense after seeing them race together for several weeks.

Has anyone ever seen either of their shows? I like Chris, but Aaron bugs me with his cockiness. I often end up cheering for the locals because of him.

(If I still have the tape, I really should do the play by play for last season's N'Awlins episode.........)

From what I saw from the commercial: this season their opponents will all be Food Network personalities, and they will face off with them in their hometowns. Considering that I saw Robert Irvine (Philadelphia, I think) and Duff Goldman (Baltimore) as some of those involved, it should be an interesting set of cities that they go through...........

5/16 @ 9pm Phoenix: WTF? How in the bloody heck did they convince this team to battle in this town? Team Charm City Cakes (Ace of Cakes): Duff Goldman and Geoffrey Manthorne (the business is based in Baltimore......)

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